Information & How to

Need to get a new network up and running quickly? Follow this step-by-step guide.

 A computer network is an essential element of modern business, and it’s increasingly indispensible in the home, too. A network lets your computer connect to the Web so that you can check e-mail, update a website, or teleconference. It also lets you communicate locally with other computers on the same local network. Creating a network is simple—all that’s needed is to connect a computer to a router with an Ethernet cable. That’s a very rudimentary setup, however.

How To Set Up a Home or Small Business Network | PCMag.com.

A home network will let you share high-speed Internet access with any computer in the house-the spouse’s, the kids’, even Grandma’s iPhone when she drops by for a visit is within reach. A network lets you control what the kids are doing on the Web, share data and multimedia files across all your computers, automate backups for those system, and even use webcams to see what that new puppy is doing in the living room while you’re at work. With a network, the bedroom computer upstairs can print to the color printer in the downstairs study, and the media PC in the living room can show a movie on the PC-connected TV in the master bedroom.

Home Networking in 5 Easy Steps | PCMag.com.